WELL Tip: Annual reporting and recertification of WELL Certified spaces

Annual reporting and recertification are the heart of what makes the WELL rating system an impactful tool over the lifespan of a project. The verification process for recertification is similar to what is required of projects during initial certification (e.g., documentation submission, performance verification). At the time of recertification (i.e., when WELL Certification has been valid for three years), project teams are responsible for reporting any changes which may have impacted performance since initial certification. This determines the need for resubmission of relevant documentation and/or reevaluation through performance testing and reduces the need to re-document aspects of the projects which have not changed. With this in mind, the following processes are essential for projects to understand after achieving WELL Certification.

What is annual reporting?

In order to maintain status as a WELL Certified project, project teams must adhere to annual reporting requirements. Certain WELL features require projects to submit annual reports via WELL Online regarding the following:
A. Results of occupancy surveys
B. Proof of maintenance (e.g., logs of cleaning schedules and filter replacement)
C. On-going monitoring of environmental parameters (e.g., air and water quality)

For certification status to remain in good standing, annual reporting should be submitted within 15 months of initial certification and then every 12 months thereafter.

How can my project successfully maintain certification?

To maintain certification, projects are encouraged to consider the following when recertifying:

• Projects must file an application (register) for recertification on WELL Online no later than three years after the date on which the project was awarded its initial certification.
• Filing an application for recertification extends the validity of the project’s original certification period by twelve months, during which time the project must satisfactorily complete the recertification process to determine that it continues to perform to the requirements of the WELL Building Standard (WELL).
• If a project does not file an application for recertification before the expiration of the original certification period or fails to successfully obtain recertification, the project’s WELL Certification status will expire.

What should my project team consider after achieving initial certification?

In order to maintain the annual reporting schedule and to be eligible to pursue recertification, project teams are recommended to plan for the following after initial certification:

Step 1: Submitting annual reporting

• Make sure that the project administrator listed on WELL Online under the ‘Team’ tab has been confirmed or updated after the project achieved WELL Certification. The project administrator will be the person to receive any project-specific notifications and reminders for maintaining the ongoing WELL requirements as well as pursuing recertification post initial certification.
• For projects that have achieved initial certification under WELL v1, teams can use the annual reporting template to make sure all the required information is submitted for annual reporting. NOTE: WELL v2 pilot and v2 ongoing reporting templates will be made available by Q3 2021.
• Project teams are required to submit annual reporting under the same version of their initial certification even if upgrading to the next version at recertification.
• Annual reporting should be submitted on WELL Online under the ‘Project Documents’ tab by using the ‘Ongoing Documentation’ document type.
• A review of annual reporting documentation will be conducted when the project registers for recertification.

Step 2: Plan for recertification
Project teams are required to report any updates made to the project boundary (for example - change in ownership, adding more floors, excluding any floor due to ownership changes, etc.) after initial certification. In addition, project teams are encouraged to consider the following items:

1. Level of certification: Projects have the option to pursue additional features at the time of recertification and increase their certification level.
2. Version of WELL: Projects have the option to pursue recertification under the same version as the initial certification or upgrade to WELL v2.

NOTE: Projects are only required to upgrade to the then-current version of WELL at the second recertification (6-year mark).

Step 3: Enroll for recertification
Project teams should enroll their project for recertification on or before the recertification due date by reaching out to our WELL coaching team via the support tab from your WELL online project account.

NOTE: The project’s recertification is covered by the original WELL Certification Agreement. No new agreement or registration fee is required other than the applicable recertification fee.

Step 4: Submit for documentation review
Requirements for recertification documentation depend on:

• Version of WELL: The version of WELL that the project team is pursuing recertification under.
• Project boundary updates: If a project has undergone any changes within the WELL project boundary - these changes can include addition to the initial certification project area or changes to policies, building design, mechanical systems, etc.

Recertification under WELL v1:

• If a project is pursuing recertification under WELL v1 (same as initial certification version), project teams are required to complete the recertification documentation tool as part of their analysis and documentation submission.
  • In this tool, project teams are asked to identify any changes made to interior design, food services, exterior design, cleaning protocols, mechanical systems, organizational policy, overall structure, and plumbing systems over the three years since initial certification.
  • Based on the features pursued during initial certification and any changes made, features are once again verified based on the extent of changes and noted in the ‘Documentation’ and ‘Performance Verification’ tabs of the recertification tool.
  • During this time, project teams can also indicate any new features that they wish to pursue which can help increase the certification level.

Recertification under WELL v2 pilot:

• Projects that achieved initial certification under WELL v1 and wish to pursue recertification under WELL v2 pilot, teams may use the Skybridge tool - Table 3 to conduct the v1 to v2 pilot feature analysis.
  • For v2 pilot features that have approved v1 feature substitution (based on the skybridge tool), project teams may submit a ‘signed letter’ confirming the list of features that are pursued for recertification.
• If the project has undergone any updates from the initial WELL Certification which may impact the pursued WELL v1 features, project teams are required to submit full documentation for those features during recertification.

Step 5: Schedule performance verification
The recertification process aims to recognize the importance of reevaluating performance verified metrics in buildings every three years. During this process, the project is re-evaluated to verify that it continues to perform as designed. The requirements for retesting performance verified features depend on the extent of alterations made to the project since initial certification.

• If a WELL Certified project has not undergone extensive alterations, it is eligible for a reduced amount of testing. (Eligibility for Reduced Sampling Points Based on Extent of Alterations below).
• In Table 3 in the Performance Verification Guidebook, reduced sampling points for parameters are categorized as:
  • Full - Parameters are assessed to the full scope of test locations specified in the Performance Verification Guidebook
  • Reduced - Parameter is assessed at half the number of test locations specified in the Performance Verification Guidebook
  • None - No performance testing is required
• The extent of project alterations which may affect a project’s eligibility for reduced testing, as noted in Table 3 of the Performance Verification Guidebook, is defined by if there are changes in five main categories relating to the building, each with their own subcategories, as follows:
  • Interior design: doors, appliances, furniture, finishes, layout and lighting
  • Exterior design: building grounds, exterior lighting
  • Mechanical systems: heating, ventilation and air conditioning
  • Structure: building envelope and fenestration
  • Plumbing systems: water distribution and treatment
• For reduced sampling points to be applicable, the project must not have had any substantial alterations in the categories relevant to the test parameter (“substantial” being defined as at least 10% of the scope covered in each category above. More details on this, including an example of where this rule is applicable, can be found in the Project Alterations subsection of the recertification section chapter in the Performance Verification Guidebook (page 31).

Eligibility for Reduced Sampling Points Based on Extent of Alterations

• For WELL v2 pilot projects, there is an option to collect data for select performance verified features through annually aggregated data in accordance with the Performance Verification Guidebook for recertification.
• For projects to be eligible for this pathway, a WELL Performance Testing Agent must conduct all annual testing for the relevant feature(s). Additional information for and examples of these relevant annually assessed features can be found at the end of the Annually Aggregated Data subsection of the new recertification chapter in the Performance Verification Guidebook.

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Frequently Asked Questions:

Where can I find detailed guidance for annual reporting and recertification?
In addition to this WELL TIP article, project teams can reference the following resources for additional information about annual reporting and recertification:

• The WELL Certification Guidebook (page 18 and 23).
• The WELL Performance Verification Guidebook (page 31).
• Annual reporting templates for projects that achieved initial certification under WELL v1: https://resources.wellcertified.com/tools/annual-reporting-template/
• Project teams can also reach out to our WELL coaching team using the support tab under their WELL digital platform account.

How should I calculate the recertification fee?
For projects pursuing recertification under WELL v1, recertification fees can be calculated based on the v1 recertification pricing table. Note that performance testing is included as part of the recertification fee estimate.

For projects pursuing recertification under WELL v2 pilot and v2, the recertification fee can be estimated using the recertification pricing table provided on the v2 pricing page.

NOTE: Under WELL v2 pilot and v2, the fee estimate excludes performance testing. This additional fee can be provided by the performance testing organization contracted by the project team to conduct testing.

Preconditions in WELL v2 pilot/v2 require annual testing/ongoing monitoring. At recertification, when a project is upgrading from WELL v1 to WELL v2, will the project need to conduct these annual tests prior to registering for recertification?
If a v1 project is upgrading to WELL v2, they are not required to submit ongoing monitoring reports per WELL v2 requirements at the time of upgrade. Project teams are required to meet these on-going WELL v2 requirements once the project achieves recertification under WELL v2. However, the project is required to submit annual reporting for the WELL v1 features it achieved at initial certification.

Are post-occupancy survey results required to be conducted and results submitted on an annual basis?
Yes. Per Feature 86 in WELL v1 and C03 in WELL v2 pilot, project teams are required to conduct and submit the results of the post-occupancy survey per the certification guidebook. The first submission is due at 15 months from the date of initial certification, the second reporting is due 12 months after and the third annual reporting is due at the recertification registration due date.

Can you talk about the potential costs if the project team wishes to upgrade the version of the standard during recertification?
As IWBI updates the version of WELL to promote market leadership and reflect the latest scientific evidence, projects wishing to upgrade may be required to make provisions for alterations to stay current with the latest WELL rating system.

For example, in WELL v2 pilot, there are new preconditions related to annual testing in Air, Water, and Thermal Comfort and the legionella management plan has moved from an optimization to a precondition. However, for features that are related to those from previous versions, projects may continue to meet the original requirements with few or no modifications. For example, v1 projects may continue to use the circadian lighting measurement and calculation method described in Feature 54, Part 1a, even though this is not listed in the WELL v2 pilot.

As a second example, there are minor changes in the requirements of sink dimensions in handwashing feature between v1 and v2 pilot; however, projects that met the requirements in v1 will automatically be able to receive credit for the related feature in v2 pilot. However, note they will need to meet any new performance thresholds which may be relevant.

Is there a point at which my project is required to update to the latest version of WELL for recertification?
Yes, after the first recertification, the subsequent recertification (typically 6 years following the original certification date) should be under the latest version of the WELL Building Standard that is available, not including pilot versions.

For example: If a project achieved initial certification in 2019 under WELL v1, recertification in 2022 can be under WELL v1. Any succeeding recertifications will require WELL v2 or later versions of WELL.